Greg's Corner

Facebook removes more Burmese pages involved in ethnic cleansing, but is it enough?

In a move that seems like removing grains of sand from an avalanche, Facebook has removed 23 more accounts in Myanmar that were allegedly encouraging ethnic cleansing. If you’re not familiar with the situation. the Buddhist majority in Myanmar has been accused of persecuting the Muslim Rohingya minority resulting in the displacement of close to a million Rohingya and the death of thousands. Top government and Buddhist officials have been accused of using Facebook to fuel the flames of hatred in Myanmar. The following video will give you a glimpse into not only how the Rohingya are being treated but also how much the Myanmar government is in denial.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has blocked the accounts of Burmese officials. Back in August, Facebook closed 70 accounts of Burmese officials and leaders who were said to be encouraging violence against and spreading false information about the Rohingya people. However, that was only after the UN condemned Myanmar for committing genocide. This time isn’t much different as Facebook closed the more recent accounts after the New York Times published a report stating that the Myanmar government was using Facebook accounts in entertainment and other social groups where the users would incite violence against the Rohingya. In America, this would be like belonging to a Game of Thrones fan page where the comments would be calling for the persecution of blacks and Hispanics and these comments would be sponsored by the government.

Once again, Facebook is being reactive to these problems rather than proactive. Facebook won’t correct any problem until it means bad PR for them. Between political unrest and data breaches, for every leak Facebook tries to plug, ten more pop up. Before too long, the boat that Facebook built will start to sink while Mark Zuckerberg just rearranges the deck chairs.